Microsoft is cutting 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios and Xbox Game Studios management and central functions as part of its ongoing Xbox restructuring. The company is also reorganising several studios and changing how a number of its major franchises are managed.
According to an internal message from Matt Booty, the changes made since July, including previously announced studio divestitures, have brought Xbox roughly three-quarters of the way through its previously announced restructuring.
As part of the reorganisation, Activision will expand its responsibilities to include World’s Edge and Rare. Activision will also oversee development of the next Halo game through a new team separate from Call of Duty development, while a smaller team at Halo Studios will continue supporting existing Halo games and the community.
Bethesda will take responsibility for Obsidian, which will continue working on its existing projects, including Grounded, as well as a new Fallout project being developed alongside Bethesda Game Studios. King will also expand its remit to include Microsoft Casual Games, bringing the two groups together under the same organisation.
Playground and Turn 10 will merge into a single studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises. Microsoft said the studios have worked as creative and franchise partners for more than a decade, with their work now being formally brought together under one team.
Microsoft also provided an update on its studio divestitures. Compulsion Games and Double Fine returned to independent management in August with their intellectual property, back catalogues and runway funding, while Undead Labs has now completed a similar transition and will release State of Decay 3 day one on Game Pass with a new publisher.
Two separate agreements involving Ninja Theory have fallen through, and Microsoft will begin consultations with employees regarding a proposed studio closure while continuing to explore alternatives. Consultation with Arkane is also ongoing and is expected to continue through the end of the year.
